Study Reveals Pandemic Workday Is 48 Minutes Longer And Has More Meetings

by Sanjana Shenoy
Study Reveals Pandemic Workday Is 48 Minutes Longer And Has More Meetings

Do you feel working during the pandemic is more hectic and longer than before? Well, you’re not alone. We might start work late since we don’t have to commute to the office. But we end up working longer hours and spend a lot of time on virtual meetings. And now a study published by the National Bureau of Economic Research revealed that pandemic workday lasts 48.5 minutes longer. The number of meetings also increased by 13% and people send an average of 1.4 emails more per day to their fellow employees. Interestingly, research also showed that working from home increases productivity. 

Research States That People Now Spend 48 Min Longer For Work

A study from researchers at Harvard Business School and New York University published by the National Bureau of Economic Research made a revelation about changed work timings during the pandemic. It collected data from 3.1 million people working at more than 21,000 companies across 16 cities in the Middle East, Europe and North America. Instead of working from home, you can also work from the mountains of Manali. 

Also Read: Every Work From Home Call Ever

The researchers compared employee behaviour over two 8 week periods before and after the coronavirus lockdowns. It analysed email and meeting-meta data. And from this the study revealed that the pandemic workday lasted 48.5 minutes longer. The number of meetings also rose to 13%  and employees send an average of 1.4 more emails per day to their colleagues.

Also Read: This Flight Attendant’s Work From Home Video Will Leave You In Splits

Few Cities Across The World Returned Back to Pre-Pandemic Workdays

In a few cities like Chicago and Los Angeles, the average workday length returned back to its pre-pandemic levels. However, longer workdays persisted in most of  Europe, New York City and San Jose well into May. Jeff Polzer, a professor in the organizational behaviour department at Harvard Business School stated to media houses “People have adjusted their work patterns.”

During this two-month time frame, one thing improved during the pandemic, and that was shorter meetings. The additional meeting were shorter as per the analysis by researchers at Harvard Business School and New York University. Companies are currently studying the impact of work from home on morale, culture costs and productivity on employees. They do this to determine the modification of work practices going forward.

Employees In USA Work 3 Additional Hours During The Pandemic

VPN data also found out that employees were putting three additional hours in the USA. They also logged in at odd hours. People spoke to Bloomberg News and attributed tiring child care demands, blurring boundaries between work from home and economic recession stresses. The Harvard and NYU group stated that their research is one of the largest studies conducted so far. And it includes data from 16 metropolitan areas. Harvard’s Polzer revealed that more research is required to analyse if habits have changed permanently. But he doesn’t expect people’s work behaviours to return pre-pandemic levels anytime soon. Meanwhile, check out this fun video on expectations versus reality of working from home.